Missoula, MT

We decided to spend the day here relaxing,  rather than powering through the mountains (we'll do that tomorrow) because really, that's what this trip is supposed to be about.  Taking time, exploring, seeing what there is to see.  Missoula is an eclectic little city - a university town, an outdoors activity hub, a little bit redneck, and an interesting mix of shopping opportunities (we bought coffee filters and a pancake turner), microbreweries, wineries and even a distillery.

Yes, that's Plonk Wines.  Did I mention I think this is my kind of town?!

We spent the day walking.  Downtown, with its lovely old architecture and neat shops and along the river, with and without the dogs, then closer to the KOA campground where we're parked, for our supplies.  It's currently 8.5 C here, so a good day for stretching our collective legs after a couple of days on the road.

Missoula is #5 on "The Top Ten Outside Bike Towns" (Outside Magazine).  There are bike lanes all over, and they're put to good use.  It's nice to see.

Tomorrow we will hit the road again.  The weather looks good for it.  Jen watches the the forecasts pretty religiously, and it's good she does. We have so far dodged a couple of storms by travelling when we did on the routes we did, and we plan to continue that trend! Next stop - Spokane, WA.  This was not our original plan, but the forecasts and highway condition reports for the various routes through the rest of the mountains strongly suggest this is the best one to take tomorrow.  It's all good.  New sights and experiences will greet us no matter which way we go.